Ithaca continued to display strong growth, with an increase of 600 jobs over the year, a 1.1 percent gain. Total private sector employment in Ithaca region was pegged at 57,600, an increase 12 percent over the past five years.

Private sector job counts in Binghamton were down 400 to 81,900, while the Elmira count was at 30,200, its lowest level for May since 1990, when the labor department recalibrated its survey for statistical reasons.

The manufacturing sector continued to be a sore point in Elmira and Binghamton. In Elmira, the production job count was down 200 to 4,900, the lowest on record for the month. In Binghamton, the number declined by 800 to 10,700, which represents a 68 percent decline since 1990.

New York reported 1.7 percent increase in private sector jobs over the past year.

The Binghamton metro area is Broome and Tioga counties, the Elmira area, Chemung county and Ithaca,Tompkins County. The Rochester area is Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans and Wayne.